Various boards and board materials are used in a variety of sports and leisure contexts. For example, various “boards” exist in the fields of, among others, snowboards and snow skis, water skis, and particularly skateboards.
Additionally, there are a vast number of materials used in these various boards. For example, prior art skateboard materials typically consist of a laminated wood deck to which an axle and wheel assembly (a “truck”) is attached at antipodal ends. However, due the nature of their use, such as the execution of what are commonly known as “tricks” (various flips, turns, jumps and twists), the deck of the skateboard takes a great deal of abuse, typically in the form of stress, strain, and torsion. Similar forces can be found in other sports such as snowboarding, skiing and water skiing.
The same abuse often results in the deterioration of wood decks at an accelerated rate. Moreover, not only do the various stresses placed on the boards wear the decks out, but various sliding and gliding into pavement and other rigid objects tend to wear out the boards, typically causing the separation and delamination of wood decks as well as chips, scratches and fractures.
Attempts to overcome some of the problems with wood laminate decks have included the use of various polymeric, plastic, fiberglass and metal materials. Such materials address some of the concerns found with laminate wood decks in that separation is less likely and they often have an increased resistance to wear. However, because of the increased cost of such materials, the boards themselves become increasingly expensive.
Various measures have also been taken to protect assorted surfaces of the boards including the addition of various protective edges and skid plates which are attached to the boards. For example, plastic edges when encircle the perimeter of the board and skid plates attached to protect surfaces of the board which may be prone to wear. However, these measures are generally added after the manufacture of the board and suffer from various deficiencies including separating from the board.
Still further, an important attribute to a board such as a skateboard, is the “feel” of the board to the user. For example, many users prefer the “feel” associated with the weight of a laminate wood deck. However, existing materials which have been substituted for with laminate, tend to have a weight which is different than laminate wood, thus giving the board an overall different “feel”. Likewise, the materials substituted for laminate wood also generally have much different stiffnesses than the wood laminate. Again, this difference in physical characteristic contributes to a different feel to the user.
Further still, with all materials known heretofore, there exists little ability to change the weight and/or feel of the board once it has been manufactured. Stated otherwise, the stiffness, weight and other physical attributes remain the same throughout the life of the board itself.
Thus, existing boards do not adequately address the aforementioned stresses involved with typical, intended use. Moreover, the physical characteristics, such as stiffness, of the boards are generally inflexible. Likewise, prior art boards deteriorate with use and exposure to the elements at a rapid rate. Accordingly, improved boards and board materials which address these and other disadvantages are desirable.